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Joining the Circus

This was actually the finale of the hour of activities though. Going back to the start, the course doesn’t look TOO scary from the ground.

It’s not until I’m harnessed in and have climbed the 35-40 feet up to my first obstacle that I realized – yup, that’s high up. Heights generally don’t bother me, so this was more exciting than terrifying. Most of the time (see – rickety bridge).

The first challenge is going across via two wires. It wobbled quite a bit, but was manageable. At one point my guide, a petite welsh girl (whom, if I hadn’t been belayed before, I would have been very concerned if I had fallen whether she could support my weight), suggested I wave for the camera….suuuuuuuuure. Since she’s both operating my camera and holding my safety rope, willingly letting go of one hand isn’t an easy thing to do at that height.

After crossing to the far pole then backing up to the middle of the wire, you abseil down and then climb up the next pole – the 3 wire tightrope walk.

This one was interesting – going forward was quite shaky and tough to maintain balance (as the support wires have a bit of give to them as well), yet going backwards was a piece of cake in comparison. My guide said most people found backwards to be considerably easier. No clue why.

Next up was the one that scares/stops most people, the rickety bridge.

This thing sure was rickety. Swinging a lot, I was instructed to keep my arms out and keep moving forward. A couple times the inclination to crouch down ALMOST took over, but I made it to the other side. Going backwards on this thing was a horrible feeling! This was the one I found the most difficult and scary.

Next up, was a pole walk (you can see it beside the bridge). No pictures for that one, I finished it too quickly! This is where all my hiking I’m sure has come in handy – I’ve used fallen logs for walking platforms numerous times, along with crossing rivers via small rocks and the like. No troubles there, it was also my second most ‘fun’ one. The most fun, being the final one, the trapeze.

Getting to the top of the pole is the tricky part. There is nothing to support you, it’s simply standing straight up. Looking down from the top of the pole I realized it swayed a bit as I shifted my weight. And then the trapeze bar looks a LONG ways away at that point. But I did manage to catch it and hold on. It was a lot of fun. So long Rock N Ropes!